Eric A. Stillwell (born9 November1962; age 52) is a producer and writer who worked on a number of television series, made-for-television movies, and motion pictures, including numerous Star Trek series and motion pictures.

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Trekkie days

Stillwell was born in Okinawa, Japan, in 1962. When his father retired from the US Air Force in 1976, the family moved to Eugene, Oregon.

Sillwell became an avid Star Trek fan in 1974, having only been three years of age when the original series made its network debut in 1966. The family was living at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, when he petitioned a local TV station in Boise to keep reruns of Star Trek on the air. At age 18, he organized and administered the international fan club known as Starfleet, which still operates today with thousands of members around the world. The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes Starfleet as the world's largest science fiction fan club, although Stillwell has not been actively involved with the organization in more than twenty years.

Eric still considers himself a Trekkie. He especially enjoys following the exploits of the fan film Starship Exeter. [1]

Pre-Star Trek days

After graduating from the University of Oregon in his home town of Eugene, Oregon, in 1985 (with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science), Stillwell headed for Hollywood. In 1986, he returned briefly to Oregon where he worked for Warner Bros. Television on the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie-of-the-week Promise, starring James Garner and James Woods, which became the most honored single program in the history of television with five Emmys, two Golden Globes, a Christopher Award, a Peabody Award, and the Humanitas Prize.

The Star Trek years

In 1987, after returning to Los Angeles, Sillwell landed the job of production assistant on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He spent the next two years running errands for producers, directors, writers, actors and various studio personnel involved with the hit TV series. In 1989, he was promoted to script coordinator for the series, working under Executive Producer Michael Piller to coordinate the typing, proofreading, printing and distribution of Next Generation teleplays and script revisions.

Also in 1989, Stillwell teamed up with Trent Christopher Ganino to co-write the story (in fact, the two had written separate scripts, which Michael Piller suggested they merge together) for "Yesterday's Enterprise", a third season episode which featured the return of Natasha Yar (Denise Crosby). The episode was nominated for three coveted Emmy Awards and won in the category for Technical Achievement in Sound Mixing. "Yesterday's Enterprise" has also been voted by the readers of Starlog magazine as the most popular episode of the series (1993); ranked as the single most popular one-hour installment of the series in a nationwide viewer's choice marathon (1994); was chosen by the readers of TV Guide as one of the top five all-time Star Trek episodes (1996); and was chosen by viewers in the UK as the number one Star Trek episode of all time (1996). The California Lottery even featured the Enterprise-C from the episode on one of six Star Trek scratch-and-win lottery tickets in 1996.

During the series hiatus in 1991, Stillwell also worked as an extra on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, playing one of the numerous background Klingons in the trial scene of CaptainKirk and Dr.McCoy. In 1992, accepting an opportunity to travel regularly, he left the studio and became a full time convention organizer and emcee while continuing to write in a freelance capacity. In 1994, he teamed up with David R. George III to write the first season Star Trek: Voyager story entitled "Prime Factors". The episode was nominated for "Best Dramatic Hour" by the Sci-Fi Universe Awards in 1995.

In 1994, Stillwell founded Horizon Conventions, Inc., a California corporation. In its first nine months of operation, the company raised over US$10,000 for various charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 1995, he co-produced the biggest convention ever staged for Star Trek fans. The event, held at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, England, sold out 10,000 tickets two months before the show! The live event featured the entire principal cast of The Next Generation and producer Rick Berman, and coincided with the London charity premiere of Star Trek Generations at the Empire Theatre, contributing to the fanfare and publicity resulting in Paramount Picture's biggest-ever UK film opening!

In 1995, he was hired by Cruise Trek, a company that produces an annual seven-to-fifteen day Star Trek-themed cruise vacation, to serve as emcee for on board Trek-related events and activities. Eric and his wife Debra enjoyed the first cruise so much, they returned for six more. The 2001 trip to the eastern Mediterranean marked their seventh Cruise Trek.

In 1996, Stillwell returned to work with writer/producer Michael Piller (The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager) at Paramount Studios. As Piller's executive assistant, he served as Script Coordinator for Star Trek: Insurrection, the ninth installment in the enormously successful Star Trek franchise.

Post-Star Trek

In 1999, Michael Piller left Paramount to establish his own production company named Piller Squared, Inc., where Stillwell served as vice president of operations for the company as well as script coordinator and associate producer on Michael's television and film projects. In 2000, the company produced a science fiction pilot for The WB television network entitled Day One based on the British mini series The Last Train. Stillwell also served as associate producer on USA Network's hit television series The Dead Zone starring Anthony Michael Hall and Nicole de Boer, and the hit ABC Family series Wildfire featuring Nana Visitor. Michael Piller passed away in 2005.

From 2005 to 2010, Eric and Debra lived in Eugene, Oregon. In 2006, Eric served as the head writer and producer of the children's television series Nanna's Cottage and Monster Sunday School. In 2007, Eric joined the Public and Government Affairs staff at the University of Oregon -- the same university where he graduated with a BS in Political Science in 1985.

In 2010, Eric and Debra moved to Burbank, California, where they currently reside. In 2011, Eric joined the Alternative Entertainment department at FOX Broadcasting Company where he works on shows including American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and The X Factor, as well as annual specials including the Teen Choice Awards, the American Country Awards and an occassional Emmy broadcast. Debra is an Oncology Nurse, who was once hired on DS9 as a medical consultant and has had extra roles on ER and Northern Exposure. She is currently employed at the Disney Family Cancer Center in Burbank.

Trivia

There is a star named Stillwell in "Yesterday's Enterprise", in the alternate timeline, on a tactical situation monitor showing progress of the Klingons in their war with the Federation.

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